In FY 2001, in collaboration with Drs. Grether, Dambrosia, Phillips & Dickens, we reported that 4 of 8 neuropeptides or neurotrophins measured in archived neonatal blood distinguished children with autism or mental retardation from controls. With Dr. P. Nelson (NICHD), new clinical samples of children with autism, Down syndrome, other mental retardation, and controls are now being tested by techniques other than those previously employed, in order to re-evaluate and extend the initial observations. Dr. K. Nelson will be a consultant and collaborator in the CA Department of Health Services recently-awarded CDC Autism Center of Excellence grant, which will provide a source for biological samples of well-described clinical cases for studies of biological markers and inflammatory indicators. Our recent studies of cerebral palsy include investigation of coagulation disorders, a cause of pediatric and perinatal stroke now been recognized as an etiologic factor in CP. Three publications relating to pediatric stroke are in press. Results of a PCR study of neonatal blood for factors relating to clotting mechanisms in premature children with cerebral palsy and controls, a collaboration with Drs. Grether, [unreadable]Lammer, Iovannisci, and Dambrosia, are under analysis